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Open Thread: Russell Vought Is A Very Bad Man (But Not A Cartoon Supervillain)

by Anne Laurie| October 21, 20257:36 pm| 96 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Open Threads, Republican Venality, Trump Crime Cartel

Is this…real? It’s not some weird AI video? Who is Trump calling “Darth Vader” as a way to praise them and invite applause from the audience?

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— Alex (@purplechrain.bsky.social) October 21, 2025 at 4:23 PM

it's real. he's talking about Russ Vought

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) October 21, 2025 at 4:25 PM

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You should also know he's an idiot and mostly failing miserably.

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— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 11:13 AM

Seems to me like Mr. Vought is (once again?) being set up as first scapegoat to be thrown from the White House troika as everything goes pear-shaped… Per Andy Kroll ProPublica, “What You Should Know About Russ Vought, Trump’s Shadow President”:

On the second day of the federal government shutdown, President Donald Trump shared an AI-generated video set to the classic song “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” by Blue Öyster Cult. The star of that video, which quickly went viral, was Russell Vought, the president’s top budget adviser. More than that, Vought is the architect of Trump’s broader plan to fire civil servants, freeze government programs and dismantle entire agencies, and he’s a big reason the second Trump administration has been more effective at accomplishing its goals than the first. In the video shared by Trump, Vought appeared as the scythe-wielding Grim Reaper of Washington, D.C.

Vought’s title is director of the Office of Management and Budget. The OMB directorship is one of the most powerful jobs in Washington, and Vought has used his position to wage a quiet war to change the shape of the entire U.S. government. In Vought’s hands, OMB has acted as a choke point for the funding that Congress approves and agencies rely on to run the government. While he tends to operate behind the scenes as much as possible, his influence in Trump’s second administration is so pronounced that people have described him as akin to a shadow president.

Here are some of the key things you should know about Vought. Read ProPublica’s full investigation here. (Vought declined to be interviewed for the article. A spokesperson for him at OMB would not comment on the record in response to a detailed list of questions.)

1. Vought went from the mail room to becoming the chief antagonist of his own party.
A native of Trumbull, Connecticut, and the son of an electrician father and a mother who spent decades in public education before helping to launch a Christian school, Vought got his first job in D.C. politics working in the mail room for Republican Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas, a fierce budget hawk known for criticizing members of his own party for breaking what he viewed as core conservative principles…

In 2010, he quit Congress and helped launch an offshoot of the Heritage Foundation think tank called Heritage Action for America, which was tasked with strong-arming congressional Republicans to act more conservatively…

2. OMB’s massive power supercharges Vought’s influence.
While the Office of Management and Budget is part of the White House, Vought is a member of Trump’s cabinet along with the secretary of defense and attorney general. OMB director has little of the cachet of those jobs, but it plays a vital role. Every penny appropriated by Congress first passes through the OMB. It also reviews all significant regulations proposed by federal agencies, vets executive orders before the president signs them and issues workplace policies for more than 2 million federal employees…

3. Vought’s early work at OMB helped lead to Trump’s first impeachment.
… In 2019, after the Trump White House pressured Ukraine’s government to investigate then-candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter, it asked Vought, then acting director, to freeze $214 million in congressionally approved security assistance for Ukraine. He obliged.

This impoundment, later deemed illegal by the Government Accountability Office, would trigger congressional investigations and, ultimately, Trump’s first impeachment. During that process, Vought refused to cooperate with investigators, calling the probe a “sham process that is designed to relitigate the last election.” …

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7. Elon Musk and DOGE often acted at Vought’s direction, insiders say.
Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO and the world’s wealthiest person, may have grabbed the headlines as his Department of Government Efficiency took a chainsaw to budgets and staffing. But court records, interviews and other accounts from people close to Vought show that DOGE’s efforts were guided, more than previously known, by the OMB director.

“I can’t imagine that the DOGE team knew to target all these little parts of the government without Russ pointing them there,” a former OMB branch chief told ProPublica…

8. Vought has used OMB to try to pressure Democrats into reaching a deal with Republicans to end the shutdown.
Vought has frozen $26 billion in federal funding for infrastructure and clean energy projects in blue states in the days after the federal government shut down on Oct. 1. The government has also followed through on Vought’s earlier threat to fire a massive number of civil servants if the shutdown were not averted.

“We work for the president of the United States,” a senior agency official who regularly deals with the OMB told ProPublica. But right now, he added, “it feels like we work for Russ Vought. He has centralized decision-making power to an extent that he is the commander in chief.”

Media: Russ Vought is a dark master of the bureaucracy, uncannily skilled at maneuvering pieces on the board to rule with an iron fist. Here is a picture of him in dark lighting so you know how ~*serious*~ this is.

— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 11:15 AM

Reality: Russ Vought accidently coded some firings at CDC wrong and had to bring back more than half of them, taking his grand total of "mass firings during the shutdown" to a whopping 3k or so.
Also they nearly broke the mortgage market and had to bring those people back too.

— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 11:15 AM

Reality, coda: Russ Vought continues to be stymied in his goal to dismantle the CFPB because the organization handles this piece of data that's a load bearing pillar to the American mortgage market and they can't get rid of it without blowing up American real estate.

— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 11:18 AM

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Stuff that gets leaked by an administration that wants to get rid of an inconvenient minion:

So, per reporting from Zeteo’s Asawin Suebsaeng, in today’s new ‘First Draft’ newsletter, Trump tried to get a newly-divorced Russ Vought, Project 2025 architect & now budget chief, laid at Mar-a-Lago.
The details are, ahem, as crude as you’d expect from Trump.
zeteo.com/p/trump-shit…

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— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 2:03 PM

Open Thread: Russell Vought Is A Very Bad Man (But Not A Cartoon Supervillain)Post + Comments (96)

No Kings – Compilation 3!

by WaterGirl| October 21, 20256:34 pm| 40 Comments

This post is in: No Kings Oct 18, 2025, Open Threads

Finally getting back to the No Kings submitted by email!

HarryBee

Best photos from my daughter up in Ithaca, NY No Kings 2 on 10/18/25.

comrade scott

Another No Kings piece if you’re interested:

There were an estimated 25K downtown, that’s 5K more than the June rally. It felt like it as I and others around me observed. I was standing where that red dot is.

According to local reports, there were another 12-15K demonstrators in Colorado Springs, which gives on an idea of how that formerly very wingnutty part of the state has somewhat changed politically and how pissed off people are.

Sure Lurkalot documented one of what turned out to be a ton of small, “pop up” events throughout the metro region plus ones that were on the No Kings map. One in particular struck me in Littleton along South Santa Fe drive. Lots of cars but not exactly a convenient spot for a rally. They estimated around 2K just there.

We went to friends up in what is now a northern exurb, Erie, later in the evening, joined by two other couples, one from a south burb (they wouldn’t attend a protest if their lives depended on it) and one from a burb in between us and Boulder. At the latter, they had a rally of another 2K or so. Then they went to one in Erie along with the people hosting last night who live there. The ones in Erie aren’t politically active but went to their first rally/protest because of this. That’s saying something.

I’m still kicking myself I didn’t get a photo of the Elvis impersonator (late Elvis of course) carrying a sign “The only king is Elvis” although I’m told a local media outlet got one but hell if I can find it.

ScampDog

Here are a couple of photos that I took yesterday at the No Kings rally near me in Thornton, the northern Denver suburb where I live. The venue was a pedestrian overpass crossing I-25. My not-necessarily accurate estimate that there were about 400-500 people there, with easily over 100 on the pedestrian bridge itself, with even more of us along the highway.

The vibe in the crowd was 100% positive, and the drivers on the highway almost uniformly supportive. I saw one thumbs down gesture and two or three people flipping us off, out of what seemed like 60 cars a minute coming by. A lot of big rig drivers honked in support, and I had half figured most of them to be MAGAts, so I went home feeling a lot better about the situation in the US now.

Oh yeah, and it was my birthday, so it was a great way to celebrate part of my day!

bbleh

RevRick

cckids

These are from Everett, WA-I did not have the time/energy to get into Seattle for the big time rally, but ours was quite good. Uplifting, very crowded and enthusiastic.

We had one Hispanic-looking guy in his battered pickup truck, yelling “I voted for Trump!” to general derision. I couldn’t resist yelling back “You know, they’ll come for you too!” Again “I voted for Trump!” whereupon I yelled “You think they CARE?!” Just a delusional twatwaffle. My spouse was desperately trying to get me to shut up.

Aside from him, though, it was a super day-a bit rainy, but nobody seemed to care. So happy to see everyone’s pics!!

No Kings – Compilation 3!Post + Comments (40)

Open Thread: Another GOP Terrorist Arrested, Again

by Anne Laurie| October 21, 20253:43 pm| 92 Comments

This post is in: GOP Death Cult, Jan 6: Insurrection, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat

"A Jan. 6 rioter pardoned by U.S. President Donald Trump has been charged with threatening to kill House of Representatives Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, according to a court document."

— Monique ?? she/her (@badassfeminists.bsky.social) October 21, 2025 at 2:58 PM

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Hakeem Jeffries: "When it comes to these extremists out there, you better watch how you talk when you talk about me. Next question."

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) October 21, 2025 at 2:35 PM

CBS News, “Pardoned Capitol rioter charged with threatening to kill Hakeem Jeffries at NYC event this week”:

… Court documents obtained by CBS News said Christopher Moynihan was arrested Sunday after saying in text messages that he planned to “eliminate” Jeffries when the top House Democrat spoke at an event in New York City on Monday.

Moynihan was arraigned Tuesday and entered a plea of not guilty.

According to a court filing by prosecutors in the New York state criminal case, Moynihan wrote, “Hakeem Jeffries makes a speech in a few days in NYC I cannot allow this terrorist to live.”

Moynihan also allegedly stated: “Even if I am hated, he must be eliminated, I will kill him for the future,” the filing said.

Moynihan faces a felony charge of making a terroristic threat, according to court filings shared by prosecutors….

Moynihan was pardoned by President Trump nine months ago, along with more than 1,500 other Capitol riot defendants who were granted clemency hours after Mr. Trump returned to the White House.

Moynihan was found guilty in August 2022 of obstructing an official proceeding, and pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor charges. He was sentenced in February 2023 to 21 months in prison.

Prosecutors described Moynihan as being among the first rioters to breach police barricades and enter the Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021.

Moynihan was also among a smaller group of riot defendants who were on the Senate floor during the siege. Prosecutors argued in Moynihan’s sentencing memorandum: “While inside, Moynihan rifled through a notebook on top of a Senator’s desk, saying ‘There’s gotta be something in here we can f*cking use against these scumbags.'”

Prosecutors said Moynihan “occupied the dais of the Senate, joining other rioters in shouts and chanting,” and didn’t leave the chamber until police made him leave.

Moynihan’s arrest for allegedly threatening Jeffries was made by New York State Police, according to a statement by the agency that was confirmed by a state official. The investigation was initiated by the FBI, according to state police…

Moynihan is not the first pardoned Capitol rioter to be arrested on new, separate charges. But he is the first to be charged with making a violent threat against a member of Congress…

Q: "The threat against Hakeem Jeffries…Did President Trump make a mistake by just offering up a blanket pardon for every person that was convicted [for Jan. 6]?"
Johnson: "The assassination culture that's been advanced now, this is the Left…not the Right."

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— The Bulwark (@thebulwark.com) October 21, 2025 at 11:20 AM

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This isn’t the first instance of an insurrectionist pardoned by Trump going right back to committing alarming crimes—and it likely won’t be the last.
“Even if I am hated, he must be eliminated, I will kill him for the future,” the suspect allegedly wrote. trib.al/BpIceGj

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— The New Republic (@newrepublic.com) October 21, 2025 at 9:32 AM

Open Thread: Another GOP Terrorist Arrested, AgainPost + Comments (92)

After the Protests: What’s Next?

by Anne Laurie| October 21, 202511:00 am| 258 Comments

This post is in: Excellent Links, Open Threads, Resistance to Trump

There’s a massive Zoom call this Tuesday evening “What’s Next”
www.mobilize.us/nokings/even…

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— Yaga ABBA (@729xhappier.bsky.social) October 19, 2025 at 5:10 PM

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Reminder: We spent YEARS reading thousands and thousands of articles on the Tea Party and how it was a true expression of the American people's will, and it never mounted anything nearly as big as Saturday's No Kings rallies. [1/3]
— Paul Waldman (@paulwaldman.bsky.social) October 19, 2025 at 3:54 PM

The Tea Party's biggest distributed event was on tax day 2009, with 750 modestly attended protests. No Kings had 2,600.
Its biggest single gathering was on 9/12/09 in DC, with somewhere between 75K and a few 100K participants. No Kings had 5-7 million.
So: No Kings dwarfs the Tea Party. [2/3]
— Paul Waldman (@paulwaldman.bsky.social) October 19, 2025 at 3:54 PM

Does that mean it's more *important*? To be determined. The Tea Party mattered mostly because of how it took over the GOP like a toxic virus, driving it to far-right extremism and laying the foundation for Trumpism. We don't yet know what effect No Kings will have on the Democratic Party. [3/3]
— Paul Waldman (@paulwaldman.bsky.social) October 19, 2025 at 3:54 PM

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Paul Krugman, at his SubStack — “Civil Resistance Confronts the Autocracy”:

… I have a theory about the deeper purpose of the MAGA attacks on No Kings Day 2. America, I’d argue, is currently operating in a strange condition — what I would call a “bubble autocracy.” Donald Trump has not yet consolidated anything like absolute political power. But parts of our society — the Republican Party and a number of supposedly independent institutions like, say, CBS — are in effect living inside a bubble in which they operate as if he has. Within that bubble, a cult of personality around Trump has been built, a cult of personality worthy of Kim Jong Un. And to show their fealty to Dear Leader, Republicans must engage in bizarre rhetoric…

I attended Saturday’s No Kings Day march in Manhattan, for several reasons. As a citizen, I felt it was my duty. As a journalist, I wanted to see with my own eyes the mood, and whether there was violence either by or, far more likely, against the protestors. And I was, to be honest, feeling some anxiety about crowd size: a disappointing turnout would have been a significant blow to our chances of saving American democracy. No surprise that Trump attempted to discourage participation by declaring in advance that “I hear that very few people are going to be there,” while his lackeys spouted insane conspiracy theories.

I needn’t have worried. The march I joined was immense. G. Elliott Morris and the independent science newsroom Xylon estimate that 320,000 people protested in New York, and their median estimate is that more than 5 million protested nationwide. As Morris says, Saturday’s events were very likely “the biggest single-day protest since 1970.” Furthermore, the event was completely nonviolent: The New York Police Department reported zero arrests…

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A couple of months ago Henry Farrell had a useful post explaining why people around Trump shower him with ludicrous compliments. Farrell cited work by the political scientist Xavier Marquez, who pointed out that autocracies that build a cult of personality around their leader are subject to “flattery inflation.” Marquez’s examples go all the way back to the Emperor Caligula, but the logic has remained the same over the centuries. (Trump hasn’t yet appointed his favorite horse as consul, but he did make Pete Hegseth secretary of ~~defense~~ war.)…

What I would argue is that a similar process of self-reinforcement applies to telling lies that serve the autocrat’s ego. Call it “mendacity inflation.” Trump insists that he’s overwhelmingly popular and that only a lunatic fringe disapproves of his presidency. Well, to show loyalty his hangers-on must go further, declaring that grandmothers and parents pushing prams down 7th Avenue are illegal aliens and violent criminals. The humiliating absurdity is a feature, not a bug. Simply lying about demonstrators isn’t enough; to prove their MAGA mettle people in Trump’s orbit must tell lies that are grotesque and ridiculous…

And on that point, my second question arises: does it matter whether people are out there marching and carrying signs, even if they number in the millions? Well, there is a solid body of research by political scientists like Erica Chenoweth about the effects of civil resistance — nonviolent shows of opposition to those controlling or attempting to control the government. The clear answer from this research is that demonstrations like No Kings Day can make a big difference. They are a show of the depth and popularity of a movement, reassuring those who are opposed to a nation’s direction that many, many others share that opposition.

Moreover, if a broad cross-section of society is represented in the demonstrations — and the crowds I saw consisted of a mix of seniors, middle-aged liberals, families with children, students and other unthreatening types — they can induce defections from the ruling regime, because the protestors can’t easily be “othered,” portrayed as strange and alien. So protests with a wide base of support can ultimately pierce the regime’s bubble. In fact, in the aftermath of the massive scale and breadth of the demonstrations, the MAGA propaganda machine has gone remarkably quiet, although Mike Johnson has claimed that the demonstrators were all Marxists.

And Trump himself is in denial. ..

What the No Kings Day 2 demonstrations showed me is that we continue to be a great nation, despite how Trump and his minions try to separate, divide, gaslight and intimidate us. Saturday’s marches were a giant step towards taking our country back.

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Dudes who did “Tea Party” cosplay are now like “shut up and bow to your rightful king”.

— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 8:30 PM

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Anne Applebaum, at the Atlantic — “Why Trump Turned to the Sewer” [gift link]:

Lieutenant Colonel Harald Jäger was in charge of a Berlin Wall checkpoint on the evening of November 9, 1989, when a garbled televised press conference convinced thousands of East Berliners that they were allowed to cross into West Germany. People ran to the checkpoint. They started shouting at Jäger, telling him to open the barrier, even though no one had told him about any changes.

Still, “when I saw the masses of East German citizens there, I knew they were in the right,” he told an interviewer, many years later. In another interview, he recalled, “At the moment it became so clear to me … the stupidity, the lack of humanity. I finally said to myself: ‘Kiss my arse. Now I will do what I think is right.’” He opened the barrier and people started walking through…

The differences between the “No Kings” demonstrations that took place across the United States on Saturday and the East German protests 36 years ago are too numerous to list. I saw no riot police at the protest I watched in Washington, D.C. Nor did the demonstrations in the autumn of 1989 feature animal costumes, cute homemade signs, or people dancing the Macarena. But they shared at least one goal: to remind the government’s supporters and enablers that the public is unhappy. The majority of Americans object to President Donald Trump’s politicization of justice, his militarization of ICE, and his usurpation of congressional power. Eventually some of those presidential supporters and enablers might, like Jäger the border guard, be persuaded to side with the majority and help bring this assault on the rule of law to an end.

The people in the White House know this too, and they reacted accordingly. Trump, the successor to George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, posted an AI-created video of himself as a fighter pilot, wearing a crown, flying over an American city, and dumping shit onto American protesters. The point was not subtle: Trump wanted to mock and smear millions of Americans, literally depicting them covered in excrement, precisely so that none of his own supporters would want to join them…

We are just at the very beginning of this familiar, predictable cycle, and we know from the experience of other countries that it can lead in many directions. Protests could fizzle out, as often happens, because mocking, angry, and, in this case, scatological propaganda discourages people from joining them. Or the official reaction to them could turn uglier: Anyone who objects to the Party or the Leader will be described as not really American, not eligible for the rights of a citizen, not really entitled to protest at all. In authoritarian countries, state institutions—tax authorities, regulators, political police—would then begin to pursue them. That isn’t supposed to happen in America, but then, this isn’t an ordinary American political cycle.

Alternatively, the people who showed up on Saturday might be inspired to do more. For years, Americans at protests have been chanting, “This is what democracy looks like.” But the No Kings marches are actually what free speech looks like. Democracy looks different. Democracy requires organized politics, support for candidates, the creation of broad coalitions. Protests can only create enthusiasm, spread goodwill, and inspire people to dedicate time and energy to real political change. And the people who created the sewage video knew that too.

After the Protests: What’s Next?Post + Comments (258)

Foreign Affairs Open Thread: Don’t Cry for Milei, Argentina

by Anne Laurie| October 21, 202512:10 am| 75 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Foreign Affairs, Open Threads, Trump Crime Cartel

Argentina edition of Libertarian bible

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— Albert Pinto (@70sbachchan.bsky.social) October 11, 2025 at 9:40 AM

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Q: What do you have to say to farmers who feel that the deal is benefitting Argentina more than it is them?
TRUMP: Look, Argentina is fighting for its life, young lady. You don't know anything about it. You understand what that means? They are dying

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) October 19, 2025 at 9:16 PM

Javier Milei is Trump’s favorite kind of foreign leader: An openly corrupt ‘strongman’ who uses the full power of his state to ruthlessly reward his friends and punish his (leftwing! poor!) enemies… while never being too proud to suck up to powerful ‘kingmakers’ such as Donald Trump and his own circle of billionaire cronies.

Argentina formalizes $20bn currency swap deal with US
#Trump

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— TrumpWatch (@trumpwatch.skyfleet.blue) October 20, 2025 at 10:55 AM

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Gonna be kinda shocked if this doesn't come back to haunt them in the midterms.
They gave 20b to Argentina while your farm went bankrupt is, uh, not a hard line to land.

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— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) October 11, 2025 at 3:24 PM

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Your health insurance premiums could double or even triple thanks to Republican health care cuts.
But instead of helping American families facing double costs, Trump plans to DOUBLE his bailout for Argentina.
Whatever happened to “America First”?

— Elizabeth Warren (@elizabeth-warren.bsky.social) October 17, 2025 at 3:10 PM

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Trump’s Argentine gamble benefits almost no one on.ft.com/46ZrFtI | opinion

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— Financial Times (@financialtimes.com) October 20, 2025 at 1:22 PM

Per the Financial Times, “Trump’s Argentine gamble benefits almost no one”:

For a US presidency that makes a habit of throwing around large numbers, the $40bn package earmarked for a rescue of Argentina’s economy may not be enormous. But it is still a poor use of money, for almost everyone involved.

Look at it from Argentina’s perspective. Over the past two weeks, the US has committed to a $20bn currency swap line with the Argentine central bank, intervened directly on at least two occasions to buy Argentine pesos in the spot market and announced plans to line up another $20bn package to help with the country’s upcoming debt payments. Yet the peso fell to a new intraday low of 1,476 per dollar on Monday. That compares with 350 pesos per dollar two years ago…

The Argentine currency may have further to fall. President Javier Milei’s pro-market, austerity-focused reform agenda, which has been credited with bringing down inflation, is under threat. Measures such as slashing public sector jobs and reducing energy subsidies and welfare programmes have proved unpopular with voters…

From a US perspective, exchanging stable US dollars with volatile and overvalued pesos is not a good investment. Fernando Marull, a partner at FMyA, a financial consultancy in Buenos Aires, estimates that the US Treasury had bought roughly $400mn worth of pesos in three purchases on October 9, 15 and 16.

There is not much here to offset the likely financial hit. There may be some short-term winners: with Argentina’s 2035 dollar-denominated bonds trading close to 56 cents on the dollar, up from 48 cents before US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent announced the lifeline, hedge funds may breathe a sigh of relief. And, from a US perspective, there is some hope that extending a helping hand to Argentina — rich in lithium, shale oil and copper — might one day clear the way for deals.

But propping up the peso is unlikely to be a route to a sustainable improvement in the country’s economy. And the US is throwing money at this problem at the same time as American farmers are struggling and federal workers are going without pay during a government shutdown. For the US, the political cost of this foreign venture may outweigh the economic one.

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“America First.”

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— Robert Reich (@rbreich.bsky.social) October 12, 2025 at 2:53 PM

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As always he does something nakedly corrupt, the rest of the administration rushes to tell everyone it's actually a vital US interest and you're crazy to suggest otherwise, and he turns around and says "no I'm doing this because I'm corrupt"

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— Hemry, Local Bartender (@bartenderhemry.bsky.social) October 14, 2025 at 2:24 PM

"I am doing this [giving 20 billion taxpayer dollars to my friends] because I am the king and it's what I want to do. I want to stress that I don't have to do it and it doesn't benefit the united states. Are you stupid?"

— Hemry, Local Bartender (@bartenderhemry.bsky.social) October 14, 2025 at 2:26 PM

Also let's look at the substance here: it's a "great philosophy" that in short order brought the country to the brink of economic ruin to the tune of needing a 20 billion dollar bailout. Great. Thank you president good business man

— Hemry, Local Bartender (@bartenderhemry.bsky.social) October 14, 2025 at 2:33 PM

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Trump said US wouldn't help Argentina if his "favorite president" Millei doesn't win reelection. This backfired. The peso tumbled. Millei's opponents railed against US extortion. Govt rushed to try to assure Argentines that Trump wouldn’t abandon the nation based on Milei’s political fortunes

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— Catherine Rampell (@crampell.bsky.social) October 17, 2025 at 1:07 PM

Ishaan Tharoor, at the Washington Post, “Trump’s Argentina gambit is not ‘America First’”:

… [T]hroughout his presidency, Trump has been guided by a hard-right ideology ever-present among his base and his allies. And for all the triumphal nationalism on show at the White House, there are times when it’s unclear what American interests are boosted by Trump’s agenda.

That’s been the case in recent days as the Trump administration authorized a conspicuous bailout of the Argentine economy. The unusual move to initiate a $20 billion currency swap with Argentina’s central bank is aimed at stabilizing an Argentine peso that’s wobbling dangerously amid market concerns that libertarian President Javier Milei, a Trump ally, may see his aggressive reform agenda checked at the ballot box in next week’s midterm elections. In the past, the United States has participated in numerous bailout schemes for perennially crisis-stricken Argentina under the aegis of the International Monetary Fund; this would be the U.S.’s most direct intervention in another country’s economy for decades.

The Trump administration is also working to arrange an additional $20 billion in private-sector financing for Argentina, doubling the financial lifeline, my colleagues reported.

Milei and Trump are close ideological allies, and the Argentine leader cast an outsize shadow on the early months of Trump’s second term. Trumpworld figures such as tech billionaire Elon Musk appeared onstage with Milei at right-wing U.S. events, wielding the latter’s trademark chainsaw to symbolize their shared desire for slashing the public sector. Trump admitted to reporters that the bailout wouldn’t much help the United States and may be contingent on Milei’s faction securing a favorable outcome on Oct. 26…

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who’s driving the bailout, had a more calibrated argument. He described Argentina to reporters last week as a “systemically important regional ally” that needed bolstering in the region. Strengthening the political right in Buenos Aires would boost the fortunes of its counterparts in Chile and Colombia, he argued, where left-wing governments may get unseated in upcoming elections…

Analysts are less convinced of Argentina’s importance. “Argentina buys just 12 percent of its imports from the United States,” noted Johns Hopkins scholar Benjamin Gedan. “Last year, U.S. goods exports to the country totaled a meager $9.1 billion, compared to $334 billion to neighboring Mexico, the last country to receive a similar U.S. rescue package, in 1995. Yet another economic collapse in Argentina would hardly reverberate in the United States, 5,000 miles away.”

Some Republicans and many Democrats are angry about such a vast sum of U.S. taxpayer money being funneled into a context where Americans may never see any positive return. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) fumed about the losses sustained by U.S. farmers thanks to American tariffs, including his state’s soybean farmers, who are in direct competition with exporters in Argentina…

Milei’s drastic program of austerity and spending cuts served as an intended shock to a notoriously dysfunctional economy, and won plaudits from a wide swath of Washington’s foreign policy establishment. But living standards for many Argentines have slumped, unemployment is climbing, and salaries are not matching rates of inflation. Local elections in Buenos Aires earlier this year delivered a chastening blow to Milei’s camp, sparking the market jitters that have brought his project to such a pronounced moment of crisis.

Trump’s intervention may salvage Milei’s political fortunes in the near term. But the U.S. president’s broader strategy for the region — which seems both anchored to his plans for mass deportations at home and driven by visions of hemispheric dominance, including his controversial targeting of alleged narco-traffickers in the Caribbean — aren’t endearing Latin America to the United States…

UPDATE: Trump admits Argentina bailout will not benefit the U.S.
popular.info/p/update-tru…

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— Linda (@kirbyow.bsky.social) October 15, 2025 at 7:46 AM

Judd Legum, at Popular Information:

… During a question-and-answer session with the press following the meeting, Trump admitted the bailout for Argentina would be of little benefit to America. “It’s not going to make a big difference for our country,” Trump said.

On September 29, Popular Information reported that the bailout would immensely benefit billionaire hedge fund manager Rob Citrone, a personal friend and former colleague of Scott Bessent. A subsequent Popular Information report revealed that Citrone was in contact with Bessett about the bailout before it was announced.

Popular Information’s reporting was confirmed on October 9 by the New York Times…

Elizabeth Warren blasted the bailout as cronyism. “Trump promised ‘America First,’ but he’s putting himself and his billionaire buddies first and sticking Americans with the bill,” Warren said in a statement. She introduced legislation with seven other Senators to block the bailout.

During the press availability, Trump dismissed the concerns of American soybean farmers about Argentina. China has boycotted American soybeans as part of the ongoing trade dispute. Argentina has taken advantage by eliminating its export tax and then selling 1.5 million tons of soybeans to China within days. This has had a devastating impact on American farmers…

While farmers struggle to survive and the federal government is shut down, Milei is riding high thanks to the cash infusion from the Trump administration. “There will be an avalanche of dollars,” Milei said in a radio interview shortly before traveling to the White House. “We’ll have dollars pouring out of our ears.”

===

These guys destroyed USAID (budget $28bn) causing a potential 14m preventable deaths by 2030 because the deficit but can find $40bn to bail out their buddies who stand to lose money in an Argentinian crash.

— Hari Kunzru (@harikunzru.bsky.social) October 15, 2025 at 10:42 PM

===

Under siege: Argentina’s president drops his chainsaw https://theweek.com/politics/under-siege-argentinas-president-drops-his-chainsaw

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— Ron Dyck (@dyckron.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy) October 5, 2025 at 7:17 PM

Milei, apparently, is a very strange dude. The Week:

For a few months, our president was “the ‘golden boy’ of global politics”, said Agustino Fontevecchia in the Buenos Aires Times. An eccentric former TV pundit and devotee of the free market who owns five cloned dogs named after monetarist economists, Javier Milei is beloved by right-wingers for taking a “chainsaw” to government spending and regulation.

Elon Musk has lauded him as a “beacon of hope”; Kemi Badenoch has held him up as the “template” for all conservative leaders. And for a while, his highly controversial economic blueprint “appeared to be working”: since his election in 2023, Argentina’s inflation has dropped from 211% to 43%, and in January, the country posted a fiscal surplus for the first time in 14 years.

But now “the first anarcho-capitalist president in world history”, as he proclaims himself to be, is “under siege”. His administration has been embroiled in an explosive corruption scandal involving his sister; and early last month, his party, Liberty Advances, suffered a shock defeat in local elections in Buenos Aires. The markets then went haywire – forcing the central bank to spend $1 billion propping up the peso. The Peronist opposition is now scenting blood.

Cue Donald Trump, said Claudio Jacquelin in La Nación (Buenos Aires). Last week his administration stepped in with a “game-changer” – $20 billion in emergency credit to get Milei through the next few months. It’s an “extraordinary” payment for what are essentially junk bonds, said The Economist. Trump is offering this lifeline solely because he doesn’t want his libertarian pal’s wild economic project to fail. Uncle Sam is now “underwriting Milei’s laboratory”…

They’re using American tax dollars to fund infrastructure in Argentina because that’s where they’re all going to flee when we kick them out of office

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— Senator Ron Wyden (@wyden.senate.gov) October 5, 2025 at 2:14 PM

Foreign Affairs Open Thread: Don’t Cry for Milei, ArgentinaPost + Comments (75)

War for Ukraine Day 1,334: Good Help Is So Hard To Find These Days

by Adam L Silverman| October 20, 20258:13 pm| 36 Comments

This post is in: Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Military, Open Threads, Russia, Silverman on Security, War, War in Ukraine

No one other than Ukraine ever had the combined factors of willpower, population, and strategic depth to defeat Russia’s contemporary empire.

Ukraine is the shield of the world, by default.

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 5:42 PM

Another cascading effect of Putin’s call with Trump last Thursday is that it gave Special Envoy Steve Witkoff a chance to once again demonstrate why he’s in way over his head:

Zelensky clearly annoyed with Steve Witkoff, who views the war as some sort of real estate transaction & pushes Kremlin talking points. Recently he pushed Kyiv to accept Putin’s demand for the rest of the Donbas because “it was incorporated into [Russia’s] constitution.”

Read Zelensky’s comments:

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— Christopher Miller (@christopherjm.ft.com) October 20, 2025 at 9:20 AM

“If I add two Russian regions to Ukraine’s Constitution, will Russia leave those regions?” – Zelenskyy

Good question for Witkoff to answer.

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 8:45 AM

As is his boss:

Trump on Putin and Zelensky: “They hate each other, and it makes it a little bit difficult.”

Look, we “hate” Russia, including Putin, because they kill us, destroy our cities, abduct our children, and do everything they can to erase Ukraine from existence.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 12:42 PM

Putin hates us because we refuse to let him.

It’s not the same. One hate is irrational enough to justify invasion. The other is a basic, human response to being attacked. I genuinely don’t understand what’s so hard to grasp about this. I really don’t.

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 12:42 PM

❗️Reporter: Did you discuss Putin’s attacks on civilian areas in Ukraine?

🇺🇸Trump: I did. But most of the people dying are soldiers.

— MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 12:18 PM

Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.

show full post on front page

We Are Working with the United States to Ensure that Ukraine Still Can Receive the Necessary Number of Patriot Systems – Address by the President

20 October 2025 – 20:03

Fellow Ukrainians!

A brief summary of the day. Today, I held a meeting of the Staff. Much of it focused on the energy sector – recovery efforts across the regions, deployed headquarters, and the need for equipment reserves. This week will be very active in diplomacy, and there are several specific tasks related to essential equipment – for repairs and for power generation. Clear assignments have been given to our diplomats.

We are also working on gas supplies – ensuring volumes for the heating season. I want to thank every repair crew, I want to thank all Ukrainian gas workers – our people are working almost around the clock for Ukraine, to make sure Ukrainians have gas. We determined all the details regarding financing – how much funding will be sufficient for gas purchases and what the possible sources of financing could be. In fact, half of these funds have already been secured, and the Government will find the entire required volume. The relevant instructions have been given.

Of course, there were also military reports – in detail, about strengthening our aviation component. There will be greater combat capabilities for our aviation to protect infrastructure, including more helicopters. Prime Minister of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko delivered a report – on energy-related matters as well. Good agreements have been reached with Slovakia following the visit of Ukraine’s Prime Minister. I’m grateful for that.

We are also working on projects with the United States in the energy sector. There is significant U.S. interest in cooperation on nuclear power generation, as well as on gas and oil. Ukraine’s infrastructure can provide greater energy security for the entire region – and the United States is clearly interested in that. Overall, this is already part of a much broader Euro-Atlantic strategy – the energy market in Europe must be freed not only from dependence on Russian energy resources but also from the very fact of their supply. Russia builds its policy on anti-European foundations and seeks to break Europe – this is something that definitely cannot be financed at Europe’s expense. Nowhere else in the world will Putin earn the kind of money he earned in Europe before this war – and, unfortunately, still continues to earn. Europe will continue to restrict this. We are also working with partners on new sanctions against Russia – there will be many negotiations on sanctions this week. I thank everyone who is helping.

Today, Minister of Defense of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal also delivered a report, primarily about the outcomes of the Ramstein meeting and new agreements with partners. There will be additional support packages. Separately – and very specifically – we are working with the United States to ensure that Ukraine still can receive the necessary number of Patriot systems. This is not an easy task, but it is one of the security guarantees for Ukraine – and it will work in the long term. In Washington, I spoke with defense companies that produce Patriots and other weapons we need. The willingness to work with Ukraine is fully sufficient – Ukraine is trusted. It is important that there be enough support for this at the political level in Washington.

And one more thing.

I spoke with President Macron – in particular about the current diplomatic prospects. We must keep up the pressure on Russia – now is the right moment, and pressure can open up new prospects. I also spoke with the Prime Minister of Denmark. Our cooperation with Denmark is very substantive – it covers defense production, as well as other forms of support for Ukraine. We greatly appreciate the political support, especially now that Denmark holds the presidency of the European Union, which helps us strengthen our positions. We are preparing joint European decisions that will be helpful. We are counting on a productive week ahead.

Glory to Ukraine!

Georgia:

Despite mass arrests and rainy, windy weather, Rustaveli Avenue remains blocked for the 327th consecutive day. 🇬🇪

Around two dozen protesters are currently in jail for blocking the avenue. Repeated “offenses” can lead to up to two years in prison.

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— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudandjakeli.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 12:49 PM

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 12:55 PM

Protesters are still blocking Rustaveli Avenue, despite the MIA having administratively detained 19 people over the past two days and planning to detain at least 8 more.

#GeorgiaProtests
#TerrorinGeorgia

📷 Mindia Gabadze

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— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 12:59 PM

Despite pouring rain, fatigue and disappointment after 327 days of uninterrupted protests — and mass arrests for standing on this very spot — brave and tireless Georgian protesters have blocked Rustaveli Avenue again, risking jail time. 🇬🇪

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— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudandjakeli.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 1:02 PM

A Georgian protester monitoring oncoming traffic on Rustaveli Avenue, which has been blocked for the 327th day despite mass arrests. 🇬🇪

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— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudandjakeli.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 1:03 PM

🗣️“They’ve come for me too! If they think they can scare me, my family, or my friends – they’re wrong. In the end, we will still win,” Formula TV journalist Keta Tsitskishvili reports being arrested in new wave of detentions targeting #GeorgiaProtests.

#RepressionInGeorgia

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— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) October 20, 2025 at 5:37 AM

📢 Formula TV issues a statement calling on immediate release of detained journalist Keta Tsitskishvili.

Formula TV views the recent escalation in harassment of journalists as an attack on independent media, aimed at suppressing critical voices.

#RepressionInGeorgia #GeorgiaProtests

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— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) October 20, 2025 at 7:59 AM

Tamar Totladze was abducted by the regime police in Samtredia, en route to Batumi.

Maximum she could have done is “wearing a mask” or “closing the road.”

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 6:14 AM

Once again, Georgian police wait for protesters to exit Rustaveli Avenue, searching them for face masks and preparing grounds for their arrests tomorrow.

Wearing a mask at a protest now carries a 15-day sentence (up to 2 years for repeated ‘offenses’).

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— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudandjakeli.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 2:59 PM

One of these girls said she put on the mask because she was entering the metro station. She wasn’t wearing it at the protest. For Ivanishvili’s regime, that doesn’t matter. They can do as they please.

📷 Netgazeti

— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudandjakeli.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 3:08 PM

JUST IN: ex-Georgian Dream Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia’s For Georgia party will be entering the illegitimate Parliament after a year of boycott.

And he’s doing it just as democratic parties are all going to be banned.

1/

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 4:57 AM

Gakharia, who is in Germany to avoid imprisonment, might aim for party survival and basic financial assistance, but in essence takes a step to normalize and legitimize the regime.

2/

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 4:57 AM

The democratic public support for parliamentary boycott is overwhelming, and whatever problems the Georgian Dream regime has is largely thanks to the domestic and international isolation – itself a result of the parliamentary boycott and one-party Parliament.

3/

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 4:57 AM

This isn’t just a matter of “different tactics in the same fight.” This is outright treason and Gakharia has thus ceased to be part of any framework of pro-Western, democratic oppo.

He’ll also be taking up the municipal seats – whatever the regime graced them with in the sham local elections.

4/

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 4:57 AM

Gakharia’s full assumption of a regime proxy role is a chance for Lelo to stop being in a limbo and try to come back to protests as a prodigal son.

5/5.

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 4:57 AM

Importantly, even the openly pro-Russian and violent party Alt-info got more votes in the sham local elections than Gakharia’s party 🤡

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 4:57 AM

A state-owned hospital in Batumi, Georgia fired neurologist Natia Kharati, who suspects it was due to her testimony in the trial of journalist and political prisoner Mzia Amaghlobeli — where she said the officer slapped by Mzia was simulating pain.

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— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudandjakeli.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 3:18 PM

Georgian film director Giorgi Tavartkiladze went to the police station himself, demanding to be arrested like his fellow protesters.

“I was also blocking Rustaveli Avenue. My friends were detained — they should imprison me the same way,” he told Formula TV.

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— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudandjakeli.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 3:20 PM

It’s no coincidence that one of the fiercest protesters in Georgia today is a scholar of Soviet history.

Rusiko Kobakhidze, mother of nine, crosses Rustaveli Avenue back and forth in defiance — repeating the act for which her friend was recently arrested.

🎥 Rusiko Kobakhidze

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— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudandjakeli.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 3:27 PM

The Georgian Dream is very low on money, and everything they do has revenue in consideration. This is why their full financial isolation is essential.

1/

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 8:03 AM

From illegitimate PM Kobakhidze’s interviews, the Georgian Dream doesn’t hide that their immediate goal behind the crackdown on universities is university buildings and property, which could instead host different infrastructure.

2/

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 8:03 AM

Under the “reforms,” which implies distancing Georgia away from the Bologna Process (read: possibility to study abroad), less students will receive state grants for studies in Georgia, and the abolition of the 12th grade also saves money.

3/

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 8:03 AM

There’s also a widespread and quite likely hypothesis that the Georgian Dream is pressed for money by Russia, like a proxy and a vassal that the regime is.

It’s no news that Georgia is used for sanctions evasion as the regime Russia in its war effort against Ukraine.

4/4.

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 8:03 AM

Much gratitude to Marianna Prysiazhniuk and @euromaidanpress.bsky.social for this in-depth article describing it all about Georgia, also featuring my interview.

Sharing with a little delay. Apologies.
euromaidanpress.com/2025/10/14/u…

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 12:40 PM

From EuroMaidan Press:

On 4 October, twenty thousand Georgians tried to storm the presidential palace in what they called the “Revolution of Flags” in response to contested elections securing the pro-Russian party’s grip even further.

Three days later, the regime charged five opposition leaders with attempting a coup d’état—crimes carrying up to nine years in prison. One of them, 70-year-old opera star Paata Burchuladze, was arrested in a hospital intensive care unit where he was recovering from a heart attack.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s warning was clear: “No one will go unpunished.”

It marked an escalation in Europe’s longest continuous daily protest—over 300 days and counting. And while the world watched Ukraine fight Russia’s military invasion, Georgia was falling to a different kind of conquest.

It was in February 2022 that Bidzina Ivanishvili—Georgia’s billionaire shadow ruler—made his bet. Russia would crush Ukraine in days, maybe weeks. Better be on the winning side. He’d made his $7 billion fortune in 1990s Russia and learned one lesson: always bet on Moscow.

Three years later, Ukraine still fights. And Georgia is quietly slipping into Russia’s orbit without a single Russian soldier crossing the border.

Euromaidan Press spoke with two Georgian voices on the front lines of this struggle: Marika Mikiashvili, Foreign Secretary of the opposition party Droa, Coalition for Change and lecturer at Alte University in Tbilisi, and Aka Zarkua, executive editor of Realpolitika. Their accounts reveal a strategic disaster unfolding in their country.

Georgia and Ukraine were supposed to be the same story—post-Soviet democracies that chose Europe over Moscow. Both applied for NATO membership. Both signed EU association agreements. Both got invaded by Russia, testing Western resolve.

But their paths diverged completely in February 2022.

Ukraine’s unexpected resistance trapped Georgia’s oligarch on the wrong side of history. Now, as Ukraine bleeds to stop Russian expansion, Georgia is handing Moscow a strategic victory without firing a shot.

“It’s thanks to Ukraine’s heroic fight—Russia is just distracted from our region, from the Caucasus at this moment,” Mikiashvili says.

While the world’s eyes were fixed on Ukraine, Georgians have been protesting daily for 322 consecutive days—the longest continuous daily protest in modern European history.

“It’s unprecedented,” Mikiashvili says. Other major resistance movements had sporadic demonstrations or weekend rallies, but nothing sustained and daily for this long.

Monday Evening Open Thread: They’re Flailing

by Anne Laurie| October 20, 20256:14 pm| 81 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Republicans in Disarray!

I actually think that this is a relatively interesting point, that does show the limits of what Trump can and can't do, but more importantly, -also- shows that the shape of authoritarianism in the 21st century is not monarchy or 20th century era fascism. It's very different.

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— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 10:39 AM

Part of Trump's little meltdown on Sunday was very clearly that he wanted to stop the rallies, desperately, and sent all his little toadies scurrying out to Streisand effect the entire dumb thing, but he had neither the levers to pull nor the personnel to actually do so.

— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 10:41 AM

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Chip Roy is a great messenger for … the Democratic Party.

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— davidrlurie (@davidrlurie.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 2:46 PM

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If George Soros paid for millions of people to protest Trump, you'd think Ernst and co. would have found more evidence than the international Jewish conspiracy vibe she's positing.

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— Dan Friedman (@dfriedman.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 1:49 PM

If Elon Musk paid me NOT to show up on Saturday I'd have sent the money to George Soros and gone anyway.

— David Simon (@audacityofdespair.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 1:50 PM

Republicans can always be counted upon for making up ridiculous nonsense, but their claim that Americans need to be PAID by George Soros to show disapproval of Donald Trump is so shamelessly ludicrous. We gladly and eagerly hate him for free. And are willing to take the streets and parks to show it.

— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@mrsbettybowers.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 4:57 PM

Monday Evening Open Thread: They’re FlailingPost + Comments (81)

The press swings at every pitch, we don’t have to.

Lick the third rail, it tastes like chocolate!

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

Rupert, come get your orange boy, you petrified old dinosaur turd.

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

Republicans cannot even be trusted with their own money.

A tremendous foreign policy asset… to all of our adversaries.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

“I was told there would be no fact checking.”

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

No Kings: Americans standing in the way of bad history saying “Oh, Fuck No!”

An almost top 10,000 blog!

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Everybody saw this coming.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

Open Thread: Russell Vought Is A Very Bad Man (But Not A Cartoon Supervillain)

No Kings – Compilation 3!

Finally getting back to the No Kings submitted by email!

Open Thread: Another GOP Terrorist Arrested, Again

After the Protests: What’s Next?

Foreign Affairs Open Thread: Don’t Cry for Milei, Argentina

War for Ukraine Day 1,334: Good Help Is So Hard To Find These Days

We Are Working with the United States to Ensure that Ukraine Still Can Receive the Necessary Number of Patriot Systems – Address by the President

Monday Evening Open Thread: They’re Flailing